In the 18th century, Hook-and-Spike clocks were a cheaper alternative to the brass lantern clock and full longcase 30-hour clocks of the day. In essence, it was a smaller thirty-hour longcase which in fact had no case, but was made with the hoop and spurs with which the lantern clock had always been equipped, and which could thus be hung from any convenient wall hook, exactly as the lantern clock had done. It would have been a very popular and much more affordable clock to own and would also give an owner the option of hanging the clock on the wall straight away and from the backboard of a longcase at some point in the future when they could afford the extra cost!